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Committee chooses four finalists for Iowa State University presidency
Finalist names will be announced 24 hours before their campus visits in early November

Oct. 21, 2025 4:39 pm
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A search committee interviewing eight semifinalists to become Iowa State University’s 17th president has cut the group in half — identifying four finalists to visit campus the first week in November.
The 12-member committee spent Monday and Tuesday interviewing the semifinalists virtually in closed session, per their request, before convening in open session Tuesday to announce they’d decided on four.
Although the committee didn’t disclose the finalists’ names Tuesday, the Board of Regents will announce each name 24 hours before they visit campus for in-person interviews and public forums.
The committee used numbers to identify the candidates. The four finalists are numbers 32, 38, 48 and 72.
Following the forums, the Board of Regents is scheduled to interview the finalists in person Nov. 11, before discussing their options and naming a new president that same day.
The hire will succeed ISU President Wendy Wintersteen, who in May announced plans to retire at the end of this year after serving eight years as Iowa State’s first female president.
Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.
Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com